(AIFF / Joyless - Tone's Demo of the month ( Nov 2000 )

Joyless rocks! Mixing power synth-pop with elements of jazz and fusion, they came out with a very unique brand of music. It's very heavy and dark, yet far from being dull, it is so sweet. Not from a "popular" genre in the local underground scene, synth-pop and ambient music fans have had to take a backseat for too long a time, relying on "accidental" finds of records in stores. This demo completes mostly songs by AIFF, or Joyless as they are known now. They started back in 1998 as AIFF when Cindy enlisted the help of her friend Shasha to put vocals to her composition. They cut a demo, Digital Rain, in the same year and it received favorable reviews throughout Singapore. One of the songs, "Why" was featured in the BigO Singles Club CD#5, Dec 1998, compilation issue. Joyless will re-record some of the songs from AIFF with a new vocalist, and they are also currently writing new songs for their debut album. As Cindy is currently in Boston studying, except a mid-2001 release. For a band inspired by the universe and nature, they sound very surrealist with jangly guitars, sweet melodies and simple beats. It's Radiohead's Kid A minus the pain. Songs like "Prayer", "Why" and "Seven" will make you keep coming back for more of being Joyless.   Adly Syari Ramly 2/5